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Big Ten acts to support student-athlete graduation

October 9, 2014

Big Ten acts to support student-athlete graduation

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Big Ten directors of athletics, senior woman administrators and faculty representatives met Oct. 6 and 7 at the conference headquarters in Rosemont, Ill., and agreed to ensure that any student-athlete recruited to a Big Ten institution through the offer of an athletic scholarship will be guaranteed the following throughout the course of their enrollment:

The scholarship will neither be reduced nor cancelled provided he or she remains a member in good standing with the community, the university and the athletics department.

If a student-athlete's pursuit of an undergraduate degree is interrupted for a bona fide reason, that student-athlete may return to the institution at any time to complete his or her degree with the assistance of an athletic scholarship

The Big Ten will continue to work toward the implementation of additional student-athlete welfare proposals through individual institutional action, conference-wide action or under the NCAA autonomy governance structure, including full grant-in-aids to meet cost of education and improved medical insurance. The conference has also agreed to address additional issues such as health and safety, time demands and comprehensive academic support.

Penn State student-athletes earned a Graduation Success Rate of 88 percent according to NCAA data in October, 2013, compared to the Division I average of 81 percent. The Penn State football, men's basketball and women's basketball programs all earned graduation rates at least 15 points higher than the national average for their sport. A total of 96 percent of all Penn State student-athletes earn their degrees.

The Big Ten Conference is an association of 14 world-class universities committed to the pursuit and attainment of athletic and academic excellence. Big Ten institutions feature broad-based athletic programs which provide nearly $200 million in direct financial aid to almost 9,500 student-athletes on 350 teams in 42 different sports.